Better Every Shift

“We’re a bunch of misfits, and we’re not alone,” Zam says of the dedicated listeners who are committed to making themselves better every shift, every year.

Closing out 2023, the crew reflects on the top episodes of the year and what made them so memorable, plus the most popular content on FireRescue1. And don’t miss Zam and Janelle's “words for 2024.”

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

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"The lawsuit is coming from inside the firehouse.” Much like a horror film twist where the protagonist realizes the killer is already inside the house, far too many firefighters don’t realize that our biggest liabilities are sitting with us in the firehouse. Most fire service lawsuits involve a firefighter suing the fire department or another firefighter. These are the issues we must address, as fire service attorney Curt Varone urges – everything from HR issues like discipline to operational issues related to policies and training. We also dig into the need to educate fire service leaders about how to identify those conflict-seeking members who often become frequent litigators.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

“Just when I think I’m ready to handle any fire you throw my way, now this comes along.” Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder channels Al Pacino in “The Godfather” when discussing the complexities of lithium-ion battery fires with Adam Barowy, lead research engineer with UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute. Barowy and Goldfeder break down the science behind Li-ion batteries and what makes operational options so challenging to navigate.

The team digs into all these factors dominating ‘The Lithium-ion Years’:

• The impact of various products on containing these fires;
• The logistics of relocating the burning battery;
• The questions we simply can’t answer yet – but that the FSRI team is actively studying; and
• How secondary responders could be part of the solution.

Listen in for these moments:

• “This fire does not require oxygen … you cannot get the cooling water where it needs to go – that’s the number one problem.” — Barowy
• “The fire report reads, ‘Fire started Dec. 1; we returned to quarters New Year’s Eve.” — Goldfeder
• “Start being ready for this even-faster-growing fire.” — Barowy

Resources mentioned on the show:

• FSRI’s Take C.H.A.R.G.E. of Battery Safety campaign
• FireRescue1’s special coverage series supporting FSRI’s campaign
• FDNY Fire Tactics and Procedures, Hazardous Materials: Lithium-ion Battery Mobility Device Fires

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback.

Despite seemingly endless opportunities for connection, many firefighters find themselves more alone than ever, sometimes inadvertently, so we must double-down on our efforts to build connections and avoid silos that create division. Linda Willing – a retired career fire officer who works with departments on issues related to leadership, decision-making and diversity training – offers insights into how build connections among crews, manage problem members, and foster diversity of all types to build stronger teams.

• Don’t miss: The question Willing asks whenever she discusses a news story about firefighters behaving badly.
• Power quote: “I don’t know a single fire crew that has somebody that can just be written off. … You go on a call, and any one of those people that’s with you could be the difference between life and death – for you.”

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

To help Better Every Shift mark its milestone 1-year anniversary, our very first guest, FDNY Chief of Safety Frank Leeb, returns to the show to talk all things leadership, safety and training – including the critical mindset that “we owe it to our loved ones to be better every day to make sure that we are making ourselves difficult to injure and impossible to kill.”

Plus, we dig into all this:

• What Leeb believes will keep fire chiefs up at night for the next 20 years 
• Key principles from Leeb’s new book, “Cornerstones of Leadership,” including his favorite chapter
• Leeb’s advice for giving crews just the right amount of information to get the job done
• Training lineages and why “we need to have as many children as possible”
• How to give crews both “tasty and nutritious” training (and why M&Ms should sponsor the show)
• Leeb’s personal connection to encouraging bystander CPR education
• Where Leeb sees himself in 1 year
• A shared love of Tigger, naturally

Episode power quote: “I will never retire from the fire service because the one thing I know for sure is that I could live to be 150 years old, and I will never go to enough fires to satisfy my appetite to go to fires.”

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

’Tis the season for gratitude – and gift-giving! And today’s show is all about both. We’re gearing up for the holidays by sharing some great firefighter gift ideas. These products are all available on TheFireStore.com to whom we are exceedingly grateful, as they are a generous sponsor of the podcast. Guiding us through our gift options is Amanda Keesey, a fourth-generation firefighter in Pennsylvania, who also serves as a merchandising manager for Witmer Public Safety Group. (Listen in to get a discount code from TheFireStore!)

• Don’t miss: The two products Keesey covets from TheFireStore.com
• Power quote: “Warranty doesn’t cover thermal imagers as wheel chocks”
• Hot seat sneak peek: Keesey’s all-time favorite gift

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

Today’s episode digs into a variety of psychological concepts that impact firefighter work and home life, all courtesy of Dr. Derrick Edwards, a nearly 20-year fire service veteran who also serves as a professional counselor and a mental health service provider. Dr. Edwards introduces a lot of new terms and concepts, including anti-fragile, psyche ache, urge-surfing, the end-of-days fallacy, and his favorite, the white bear, all to help us better understand ourselves – our emotions, reactions, stress and coping skills. Edwards – aka “Father ’Stache” – also shares how he became a fire service chaplain and why chaplaincy is so similar to counseling.

• Don’t miss: The two root causes of anger
• Episode power quote: “There’s more than one way to help someone, and no one way is for everyone.”
• Hot seat sneak peek: Edwards’ favorite karaoke song

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

FDNY Lt. (ret.) Joe Minogue – “my guy Joe!” as Zam likes to say – joins Better Every Shift to offer a window into his innate ability to connect people – firefighters, families, friends, really anyone. If you need a connection, Joe’s your guy, too. Minogue currently serves as the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation liaison to the FDNY and the Phoenix Society of Burn Survivors, but his commitment to service extends to so much more, including his time as an FDNY bugler, his work coordinating 9/11 memorial stair climb events and his philosophy on paying it forward. And don’t miss Minogue’s Hot Seat answers related to his proudest accomplishments, his heroes, even his poetry.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

No one thought she’d stay. Lauran McColloh was a new firefighter, just 18 years old, facing a double-LODD incident – on her very first fire. What’s more: One of the fallen firefighters was her friend Victor Isler. But McColloh didn’t consider quitting; firefighting was her dream. Now a Salisbury FD battalion chief, McCulloh joins Better Every Shift to share how she processed the abnormality of experiencing such trauma so early in her career and, more recently, how she discovered the power of vocalizing her experience – something she hadn’t done for 15 years.

We dig into all this:

• Impact: How the Salisbury Millworks fire drives her decision-making
• Passion: McColloh’s focus on building relationships
• Supervision: Tailoring management approaches to individuals’ long-term goals
• Episode power quote: “Why are they sharing my story? I should be sharing my story.”
• Hot seat sneak peek: How “wind therapy” helps her blow off steam.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

Self-described “pracademic” Dr. Randall Hanifen knows two languages – academic speak and boots-on-the-ground speak – a skill he uses to bridge the gap between the more theoretical university world and our practical fireground experiences. This is one of the many talents he’s honed during his work with the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA Branch for which he now serves as president, in addition to serving as assistant chief of operations for the West Chester (Ohio) Fire Department.

On this week’s show, Chief Hanifen and the team dig into all this:

• What it really means to be an “engineer” in the eyes of the IFE-USA – and how to get involved in the bigger-picture processes around us;
• Why he views the U.S. fire service as siloed;
• How we can learn from international fire departments; and
• Favorite station drills.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!